Wagering on warfare: Black Ops multiplayer revealed

Activision has revealed the first details on the multiplayer in Call of Duty: …

Even though it's set to hit PCs and consoles in a little over a month, there has been little in the way of multiplayer details for the Treyarch-developed Call of Duty: Black Ops. This all changed yesterday when Activision held a press event in Los Angeles to reveal the multiplayer gameplay: COD fans can expect bots, enhanced customization, and a new currency that can be used both to upgrade equipment and to gamble in competitive play.

Possibly the most important change is the addition of currency. According to 1up, in addition to earning experience points for gaining levels, players will also earn what are creatively called Call of Duty Points, or CP for short. The CP you earn can be used to purchase new weapons and gear. But they also play a big part in the new Wager mode.

In this mode players can gamble their hard earned CP across four different game types. These include: "one in the chamber" where every player has a gun with one bullet, and you earn additional bullets by taking down other players; "sharpshooter," which sticks players with one random weapon, which will continuously cycle throughout the match; "sticks and stones" limits the weapons to only ballistic knives, crossbows, and tomahawks, and if a player gets killed by a lowly tomahawk they immediately lose all of their wagered CP; and finally "gun game," where you'll earn progressively better guns with each kill, but will also be reduced to weaker guns every time you get killed.

These modes are separate from the regular ranked online matches, and you'll only earn CP if you manage to rank in the top three.

Black Ops also introduces a mode called combat training, which brings bots into the COD fold. This mode lets players train against AI-controlled opponents as a way of getting used to competitive multiplayer. The game also features enhanced customization features. You can now create custom emblems, which can then be applied to your weapons. And when combined with the various character classes and gear types, these emblems should give players a good degree of control over how their avatar looks.

Also new is a theater mode that gives each player a central hub where they can show off videos, screenshots, and game settings, all of which are searchable by other players.

When it comes to more traditional game modes, such as Capture the Flag and Team Deathmatch, it looks like little has been changed. According to Kotaku, these modes play nearly identically to past games, though with the addition of some new killstreaks. These include an explosive remote controlled car and a turret that can take down helicopters. You can check out a full list of the perks and killstreaks available in Black Ops over at Kotaku.

From the looks of it, Black Ops is adding enough to keep things interesting, while maintaining everything that has made COD multiplayer so popular to begin with. And with the addition of dedicated servers, the game could become the next big thing for both PC and console gamers when it launches on November 9.